Your One-on-One Meditation Session

meditationImagine you’re at home, seated on your sofa or your favorite chair. The house is quiet and you’re feeling really pleased with yourself for taking this time in your day for meditation. You close your eyes, focus your mind, try to find your breath, and then . . . nothing, or a lot of something. A lot of noticing that pain in your knee and the crookedness of your back. Or you can’t stop trying to solve that nagging problem with your computer. Your mind keeps asking, “Why won’t it print?!” Then you remember, “Oh, I’m supposed to be meditating. How am I supposed to do this?”

If this is your meditation practice, a one-on-one session is exactly what you’re looking for. When I work one-on-one with clients we explore what has been working and not working with their practice. Also, we uncover what they hope to achieve by meditating.

There are three main components to the first meditation session:

  1. Reviewing past experiences and the intentions around a meditation practice for you as an individual. This will vary greatly from person to person.
  2. Demonstrating and planning for your at-home practice. We review various sitting positions — their pluses and minuses and explore how to carve out those precious minutes in your day to practice.
  3. We meditate together. Honestly, there is nothing better when it comes to meditating than meditating with at least one other person. Meditating with others makes the practice much easier and often more profound. In a session, I use a guided format that aligns with your intentions and sets you up for ongoing success in your meditation practice.

Subsequent meditation sessions provide a check-in on your progress. I serve as an accountability buddy. What better way to succeed than knowing you have someone to report back to on your journey? Each session, also includes a guided meditation because with each practice we learn more about how to meditate and the workings of our inner selves.

My clients report greater mental clarity and deeper relaxation by cultivating a daily meditation practice. With on-going one-on-one sessions, they have a way to check-in on their practice and achieve a state of deep relaxation. One of my clients has reported that as her practice has grown, she has been able to be calmer in her interactions with her family and more mindful before she speaks. She says that being calm and mindful has deepened her relationship with her children!

Contact me today to schedule your one-on-one meditation session and find out what meditation can do for your life!

Reiki for Athletes at Northwood University

Northwood Basketball teamOn October 25th, I had the honor of presenting a workshop on Reiki to the men’s basketball team at Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was a great opportunity to discuss the practical application of Reiki for athletes. The focus of my presentation was on how Reiki helps with relaxation and focus. In order to face a competitive event, athletes seek relaxation and require intense focus to create an atmosphere for optimal performance.

In addition to relaxation and focus, we talked about how when you are trained in Reiki and you’re in a situation where, for example, a referee makes a bad call during a game, Reiki can help. Imagine you’re on the bench and feeling angry about the call. Doing self-Reiki can bring about calm and allow you to refocus on your goals for the game.

Another example, was how Reiki can be combined with visualization to improve an athletic skill. I talked about how I use it for my erratic tennis serve. With visualization, I use Reiki to imagine a well-timed, accurate serve, and a ball toss that is in the ideal spot. All this brings about focus and a state of calm where my body and mind work in sync for the ideal outcome.

Each player who wanted to, received a sample of Reiki on his shoulders for about 5 minutes or less.  Here’s some of their feedback: one player said, “I still feel your hands on my shoulders and that was 15 minutes ago.”  A couple of them said, “I feel a pleasant tingling sensation on my shoulders.”  Some of the coaches received a sample treatment as well.

Reiki helps to facilitate mental clarity and focus. It is also an excellent way to facilitate the body’s healing process. There were a number of athletes at the workshop working with physical injuries. I explained that Reiki goes where it is needed but, during sample treatments, also placed hands on knees and the top of the head for two athletes who preferred that to address their acute injuries.

Reiki is an excellent tool for athletes to facilitate relaxation and focus. If you’re an athlete, please share your experience with Reiki in the comments below!

 

(I extend my gratitude to all those who coordinated the Reiki workshop  on 10/25/14 at Northwood University, Florida.)